Frankly, it was shocking to see an NBC program so aggressively attack a fellow employee, and to watch the excessively liberal actor Ben Affleck, playing the part of Olbermann, participate in the skit.
This must-see video is embedded below the fold with a rough transcript:
KEITH OLBERMANN PLAYED BY BEN AFFLECK: Good evening. I'm Keith Olbermann. Our fifth story in the "Countdown," that he is the worst president in our nation's 220-year existence -- indeed, the worst president ever to head a government of any kind of the whole human history is beyond dispute. But even Mr. Bush's harshest critics had until this week credited him with a modicum of human decency -- a decency utterly belied by the tape you are presently to see, a tape at which a White House press conference, Mr. Bush abruptly launches into a stream of ugly racist invective that would embarrass even David Duke. We turn now to Michael Hilyard, board member of the New York/New Jersey branch of the NAACP. As always Michael, great thanks for your time.
MICHAEL HILYARD PLAYED BY KENAN THOMPSON: Happy to be here, Keith.
AFFLECK: Michael, given the vile nature of his racist tirade, should not Mr. Bush immediately resign?
THOMPSON: Well, Keith, I haven't really seen the tape. Is it really that bad?
AFFLECK: It is without question one of the most repellant displays of bigotry I have ever witnessed.
TAPE OF PRESIDENT BUSH: "...and to conduct a full-scale investigation to hunt down and find those folks who committed this act."
THOMPSON: I'm sorry. Is that the whole tape? I'll be honest, I'm not really seeing the racism there.
AFFLECK: "To find the folks."
THOMPSON: Folks?
AFFLECK: Well, he obviously meant African Americans.
[ Laughter]
THOMPSON: Really? Well, it didn't hit me that way.
AFFLECK: "We will find the folks."
THOMPSON: Yeah. Also in that clip he's talking about al Qaeda, whose members are entirely Middle Eastern and not black.
AFFLECK: So we have a president who is not only a racist, but also an imbecile.
THOMPSON: Well no, that's not what I meant.
AFFLECK: Michael Hilyard of the NAACP, it's always so great. Thanks for your time.
THOMPSON: No, no, that's not what I meant.
[Laughter]
AFFLECK: On our fourth story of the "Countdown" -- in his last and desperate moments, the McCain presidential campaign has decided to get its "Nazi" on. Asked at a Toledo rally yesterday to justify the invasion of Iraq, the Arizona senator said, "When a brutal dictator threatens his neighbors the responsible democratic government simply must act. Hitler is a good example." So let me get this straight, senator, Nazi Germany was a responsible democratic government and Hitler was not only good, but indeed in your words, "a good example"? We're joined now by our own Richard Wolffe, senior White House correspondent for "Newsweek" magazine. Good evening, Richard.
RICHARD WOLFFE PLAYED BY FRED ARMISON: Hi, Keith.
AFFLECK: Richard, as you know, throughout this campaign, I have frequently called for Senator McCain's arrest. But with this latest celebration of all things Nazi, has not McCain crossed the line, and for the good of the country, should he not straight away resign?
ARMISON: Keith, I too have been critical of Senator McCain. But to suggest that he has Nazi sympathies I think is rather outrageous.
AFFLECK: Courageous?
[Laughter]
I suppose. It's certainly not the first time I've been called that. That started in high school with my editorials for the school radio station, and my work as the equipment manager for the cross country team. Courageous? Sure. Guilty as charged.
ARMISON: No, no. Outrageous. Not courageous. Outrageous.
AFFLECK: Richard Wolffe, senior White House correspondent.
ARMISON: Keith, Keith, please don't cut me off.
AFFLECK: Thanks for your time.
ARMISON: I didn't mean it.
AFFLECK: Ahead on the "Countdown," my bid for a three-bedroom apartment on Manhattan's upper west side is rejected by the building's co-op board. Ostensibly because my cat is not allowed under its policy of banning pets. Tonight, my special comment. But first, on this date in 1903, Eric Blair was born under the pen name George Orwell. He wrote two of the 20th century's most consequential books -- "Animal Farm" and "1984," both of which I have read.
[Laughter]
The first when I was only 19. I have known his real name was Eric Blair since senior year at Cornell. As the leading visionary of his age, were he alive today, Orwell would no doubt admire me greatly. My eloquence, my passion, and perhaps most of all, my ferocious integrity.
And now "Countdown's" Worst Person in the World! To "Newsweek" senior correspondent Richard Wolffe once an actual journalist. Mr. Wolffe is now a full-time water carrier for the Nazi wing of the Republican Party! Hey, Richard, how much is Halliburton paying you? I hope it's not paying you in oil!
[ Laughter] Seriously, Richard, why not preserve what tiny scraps of dignity you still have left and resign? Richard Wolffe, McCain campaign butt boy today's "Worst Person in the World!"
And now as promised, a special comment. The letter was brief and to the point. "Dear Mr. Olbermann," it read. "The co-op board, having reviewed your request for an exception to its 'no pets' policy in order to accommodate your cat, Miss Precious Perfect, regretfully concludes that in consideration of the rights of the other co-op residents, such an exception is not possible at this time. Sincerely Richard Lieberstein, co-op president."
And there it was. All perfectly legal. Like the 1942 internment of more than 100,000 Japanese American citizens. Or the forced relocation of the Cherokee on the trail of tears. Or the monstrous injustice of our nation's Jim Crow laws. It was all perfectly legal, and every bit as wrong. If not indeed more so! Mr. Lieberstein, you speak of considerations of the rights of others. How dare you, sir? How dare you? Where, sir, in any of this were the rights of Miss Precious Perfect considered? Damn you Mr. Lieberstein, damn you to hell! No, Mr. Lieberstein -- your decision is not based on consideration but on fear. Fear of the carpets stained, of deliverymen clawed, of kitty litter, boxes tipped over, of hairballs coughed up! We have seen this fear before in Cambodia under Pol Pot. In Russia under Stalin. In Massachusetts under Mitt Romney. It is the fear, sir, and the tyranny up with which we dare no longer put. I pray thee, sir, let us have done with it. And what of the building's other residents? The Donnellys in 7a. The Gaspens in 4b. The gay guys in the garden apartment. Their silence is deafening. See they not that horror to which the Liebersteins have so willingly blinded themselves? This, sir, is a genocide! A feline genocide. And so the verdict is rendered, there is no appeal. Miss Precious Perfect, my mother and I, shall find another apartment. For me, the financial damage is negligible. For Miss Precious Perfect, the psychological damage, incalculable. Still, one imperative remains. Mr. Lieberstein, sir, if you yet retain any trace of honor, you must at once resign as president of this co-op, indeed, sir, justice and decency demands you so to do! Good night. Good luck.
Absolutely delicious. Bravo, NBC and Affleck. Bravo!
